Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plumbing connector utilizing a fitting securement ring within a threaded connector. More specifically, the invention is directed to a plumbing connector for attaching a vacuum breaker tube to the outlet of a flush valve.
Description of Related Art
In a typical flush valve assembly, a vacuum breaker tube is attached to the outlet of the flush valve. This vacuum breaker tube is attached with additional fittings leading up to a fixture or directly to the spud of a fixture. There have been many problems with blow-outs of the vacuum breaker tube when it is not sufficiently secured to the fixture. Because a flush valve is used to flush water at high velocities, the joint where the tube and the fixture are connected can become compromised causing the tube to blow out of the fitting. These blow-outs can lead to flooding of the surrounding area.
An example of a prior art connector 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The assembly consists of the vacuum breaker tube 12 and a fitting 14, in this case, a brass elbow. The elbow fitting 14 includes a brass body, a brass nut 16, a friction ring 18, and a rubber gasket 20. The brass nut 16 is slipped over the tube 12 followed by the friction ring 18, and then the rubber gasket 20. Once these items are slipped over the tube 12, the tube 12 can then be inserted into the elbow fitting 14. The internal threads of the nut 16 are then threaded onto the external threads of the elbow fitting 14. As the nut 16 is threaded to the elbow, the assembly gets tighter and the gasket 20 begins to compress between the top of the nut 16 and the top of the fitting 14 as shown in FIG. 2. As the gasket 20 is compressed, its inner walls tightly engage the tube's 12 outer wall. At the same time, the bottom of the gasket 20 is being compressed into the end of the elbow fitting 14. In this manner, two seals are created. One seal is created by the compression of the gasket 20 against the tube's 12 outer wall. The second seal is created by the compression of the bottom of the gasket 20 against the elbow fitting's 14 flat top edge. The grip of the rubber gasket 20 on the tube 12 is the only part preventing the tube 12 from blowing out of the elbow fitting 14. This type of securement often proves to be insufficient to overcome the force created by the flushing of the flush valve and the vacuum tube 12 is blown out the fitting 14.